Work Package D: The Memory of War and Occupation

In Norway, as in other Western European countries, the introduction of memory studies into the research on the Second World War has been highly rewarding. Yet, it is possible to identify at least two types of limitations in previous research: First, despite the common assumption that the patriotic memory which was prevalent during the first several decades after 1945 was constructed from above, few efforts have been made to establish the exact role of state institutions and elite actors in shaping the Norwegian memory culture. Secondly, the research – in Norway and elsewhere – has tended to be more concerned with official and public remembrance than with popular and so-called vernacular memories.

Participants: Sigurd Sørlie, Stian Bones, Anette H. Storeide, Joakim Aalmen Markussen, Synne Corell , Carl Emil Vogt

D1: Norway’s elites and the politics of memory

Professor Stian Bones

The subproject will explore the ways in which state institutions and elite actors engaged in memory politics of the war after 1945. Did state institutions directly or indirectly seek to promote a uniform and unifying official narrative, which served to legitimize political rule and the nation-state? If so, who were the main memory agents? What view(s) of the past did they seek to promote and by what means? Did the view(s) change over time? In what ways was the official narrative shaped by gendered assumptions? The sub-project will draw particular attention to the role of resistance veterans and the Norwegian military, and intends to compare Norway with other Western European countries. The project will be carried out by Associate Professor Stian Bones and result in one peer-reviewed article

D2: "Who Let the Germans In? 9 April in Norwegian Memory"

Associate professor Sigurd Sørlie (IFS)

will analyze the heated and recurring post-war debate about the invasion and military defeat in the spring of 1940. At times, this debate has taken on the character of a “stab in the back” legend, in which responsibility for the German invasion has been laid at the door of domestic opponents. By drawing comparisons across time and space, it is the ambition of the project to add to our existing knowledge of “stab in the back” conspiracies.

D3: "Popular Memories of War and Occupation"

aims to probe the popular memories of the war and its interplay with official and public memory. To what extent did popular memories correspond with the official memory? If they tended to overlap, is it reasonable to assume that the predominant popular memory was constructed from above? Or should the patriotic memory culture rather be understood as a product of the majority’s actual experiences during the war, combined with shared modes of interpretation? By innovative use of sources it is the ambition of this subproject to indicate answers to these questions. Among the types of sources that may prove rewarding in this context are collections of essays on the war written by Norwegian school children shortly after the liberation

Ved nyskapende bruk av kilder vil prosjektet forsøke å besvare disse spørsmålene. Eksempler på kilder som kan gi innsikt inn i denne dynamikken er essays om krigen skrevet av norske skolebarn kort tid etter frigjøringen. Denne studien vil resultere i en fagfellevurdert artikkel.

Eksternt finansiert delprosjekt

D4: "War Memories of the North"

Joachim Markussen, PhD candidate (UiT)

Prosjektet vil utføre en studie som er knyttet til arbeidspakke D ved å utforske nasjonale og internasjonale minner om krigen og okkupasjonen i Nord-Norge. Det vil også være en målsetning å kritisk ettergå den utbredte ideen om at Nord-Norge har blitt neglisert i det nasjonale minnet om krigen.